Container lid with printed coupon

ABSTRACT

A coupon bearing lid component for a container is prepared from a sheet of paperboard, said paperboard having an outer surface with a finished coating for printing graphics and an inner surface on which coupon indicia is printed, the improvement wherein the inner surface of the lid has bonded thereto a polymeric film to cover the printed coupon indicia.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to food packaging andmore particularly to a food package prepared from paperboard whichincorporates a redeemable coupon that is printed directly on thepackaging material.

[0002] The use of coupons or the like in packaging is well known. U.S.Pat. No. 3,389,850 for example, shows a tubular carton structure with anintegral interior panel in the form of a coupon. It is also known toinclude coupons or other inserts in packaging located within an interiorcompartment (U.S. Pat. No. 3,147,856), or within a pocket formed betweenan inner, protective film and the package (U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,447).When the package is used for food products, the most importantrequirement is the necessity of keeping the food and coupon isolatedfrom one another to prevent contamination. For example, if the coupon orinsert is included loosely within the food package it should beseparately wrapped. If the coupon is included as a part of the packageit may be printed directly on a package panel either on the interior orexterior of the package. However, in any case, provisions should be madeto make sure the coupon is available to the consumer in such a mannerthat access is convenient and without the need for the consumer to cleanfood off the printed material.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0003] The preferred food packaging container of the present inventionincludes a lid and tray prepared from paperboard, wherein the interiorsurfaces of the lid and tray are covered with a food contact barriermaterial. Meanwhile, the outer surfaces of the lid and tray are coatedwith a clay coating suitable for printing high quality graphics. Atypical example of such a food container is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.3,863,832, wherein there is illustrated a separate tray and lid in whichthe tray includes a peripheral flange to which the lid is bonded. It isto be understood, however, that the food package of the presentinvention may take any desired shape or form including a one piececonstruction if desired.

[0004] It will be appreciated that for food-packages as disclosed in the'832 patent and as preferred herein, it is substantially impossible toinclude a coupon or the like loosely in the food compartment. This meansthat a coupon if desired would of necessity have to be attached to orincluded as a part of the exterior of the food package. In this regard,it will be noted that in merchandising practice, a coupon that isvisible or partly visible when the package is in its normal use has moreattention drawing potential than a mere statement on the package that acoupon is being offered. However, the size of the coupon cannot be solarge that it detracts from the brand identity and other graphicsassociated with the packaged products.

[0005] In order to overcome these problems and still achieve the desiredadvantage of offering a coupon with a food package as disclosed, thecoupon indicia of the present invention is printed directly on the innersurface of the container lid. The lid is perforated around the couponindicia for easy removal of the coupon portion of the lid by theconsumer, and an interior liner member is bonded to the inner surface ofthe lid so as to cover the coupon indicia and perforations and keep theprinted matter from coming into contact with the packaged food product.

[0006] In accordance with the present invention, the interior linermember may be patched to the inner surface of the lid using conventionalequipment over the coupon indicia either before or at the same time thatthe lid is printed and die cut. The liner member may be sized so as tocover only the printed coupon indicia and perforations, or so as tocover the entirety of the lid inner surface. Where the liner membercovers the entirety of the lid inner surface, the material chosen forthe liner member must be capable of being bonded either with the use ofheat or microwave energy to the flanges of the food tray.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0007] The coupon bearing lids of the present invention are preparedessentially as follows. Suitable graphics are printed on the clay coatedside of a C1S substrate (e.g., 16 or 18 point paperboard), followed (orpreceded) by the printing of the coupon indicia on the uncoated surfaceof the substrate. The lids may also be perforated around the couponindicia for easy removal, and an adhesive is applied around theperiphery of the uncoated surface of the lid where the tray flange isbonded to the lid, followed by application of a food contact, moisturebarrier interior liner member such as polyester film. The adhesive/filmapplication can be accomplished on conventional equipment used forapplying window materials over openings in envelopes, cartons or thelike. An example of a film material suitable for use in the presentinvention is DuPont's OL series films since they are generally heatsealable and meet FDA regulations for food contact. Upon the developmentof FDA approved adhesive materials, the film material could be appliedonly over the printed indicia and perforations of the coupon.

[0008] Regarding the tray component of the preferred two piece packageof the present invention, it is the usual practice that the productcontact surface be coated with a moisture barrier, and preferably onecapable of being sealed to a lid either by heat or with the use ofmicrowave energy. Typical coatings used for this purpose in the pastinclude extrudable resins such as low density polyethylene (LDPE),polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthlate (PET). However, sinceextrudable resins for such purpose must be applied in a process separatefrom the manufacture of the paperboard substrate, or the printing step,the process disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,008 was developed.According to the teachings of the '008 patent, a paperboard substratewhich has been previously coated on one (C1S) or both (C2S) surfacesduring the manufacturing process, may be applied with a continuous,moisture resistant, product contact barrier in a single pass on aprinting press. Thus for the present invention, the preferredmanufacture of the tray component is carried out in accordance with theteachings of the '008 patent. Suitable and effective product contactcoatings, of the type useful for the present invention are prepared fromemulsions of acrylics, ethylene vinyl chloride (EVCL), polyvinylidenechloride (PVDC), and PET. For the present invention EVCL is preferredbecause of its ability to be bonded easily with the preferred polyesterfilms used to cover the coupon bearing lid component. When C1Spaperboard is used, the moisture barrier emulsion is applied to theuncoated surface to achieve a coat weight of from about 4 to 12 lbs/ream(ream size 3000 ft²) and for C2S paperboard a coat weight of from about3 to 9 lbs/ream (ream size 3000 ft²). A representative source for thepreferred EVCL emulsion is Michelman.

[0009] While the description set forth herein is focussed on foodpackaging applications, it is to be understood that the presentinvention could also be applicable to other paperboard packagingapplications where barrier properties and/or heat seal properties areneeded. Thus, the present invention provides a flexibility notheretofore addressed by the art.

[0010] Once given the above disclosure, many features, modifications, orimprovements will become apparent to one skilled in the art. Suchfeatures, modifications, or improvements are, therefore, to beconsidered a part of this invention, the scope of which is to bedetermined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A coupon bearing food container prepared frompaperboard comprising, a tray and lid, said tray including a peripheralflange to which the lid is sealed for closing the container, said trayand lid each having inner and outer surfaces, a finished coating on theouter surfaces of said tray and lid for printing graphics, and amoisture barrier food contact coating on at least the inner surface ofsaid tray including the flange, for providing a food contact surface anda means for closing the container after it is filled, the improvementcomprising indicia in the form of a redeemable coupon printed on theinner surface of said lid and an interior liner member bonded thereto tocover at least said coupon indicia and to keep the coupon indicia fromcontacting a food product located in said tray.
 2. The container ofclaim 1 wherein the finished coating comprises the dried residue of afluidized blend of pigments such as coating clay, calcium carbonate andtitanium dioxide with a suitable binder such as starch, polyvinylalcohol and polystyrene.
 3. The container of claim 2 wherein themoisture barrier food contact coating comprises a polymer selected fromthe group consisting of polyester, acrylics, ethylene vinyl chloride andpolyvinylidene chloride.
 4. The container of claim 3 wherein theinterior liner member comprises a sheet of polymeric film.
 5. Thecontainer of claim 4 wherein the polymeric film is a crystallinepolyester material.
 6. The container of claim 5 wherein the liner membercovers substantially the entirety of said lid and has the capability ofbeing bonded to the moisture barrier layer on the tray flanges.
 7. Thecontainer of claim 6 wherein the lid is bonded to the tray flanges byheat sealing.
 8. The container of claim 6 wherein the lid is bonded tothe tray flanges with the use of microwave energy.
 9. The container ofclaim 6 wherein the lid is perforated around the periphery of the couponindicia to permit easy removal of the coupon from the lid.
 10. Thecontainer of claim 5 wherein the lid is perforated around the peripheryof the coupon indicia and the liner member covers only the couponindicia and perforations.
 11. A method for manufacturing a couponbearing lid component for a container from a paperboard web having afinished coating on a first surface thereof comprising the steps: (a)printing sales graphics on the first surface of said paperboard webhaving the finished coating; (b) printing on the opposite surface ofsaid web indicia in the form of a redeemable coupon; (c) perforatingsaid web in the region of said coupon indicia; (d) bonding to theopposite surface of said web a liner member to cover at least saidperforations and coupon indicia; and, (e) converting said web intoseparate lid components for the container.
 12. The method of claim 11wherein the liner member covers substantially the entirety of said lid.13. The method of claim 11 wherein a moisture barrier food contactcoating is applied to the opposite surface of said web before or afterstep (b).
 14. A method for manufacturing a coupon bearing lid componentfor a container from a paperboard web having a finished coating on afirst surface thereof comprising the steps: (a) printing sales graphicson the first surface of said paperboard web having the finished coating;(b) printing on the opposite surface of said web indicia in the form ofa redeemable coupon; (c) applying a moisture barrier food contactcoating on the opposite side of said web to cover said indicia; and (d)converting said web into separate lid components for the container.